Brian GleesonBrian Gleeson moves to Sochi from Radisson Blu Tallinn, Estonia where he has been the General Manager since 2011. Brian is now tasked with the pre-opening of the new Radisson Blu Beach Resort & Spa Sochi, which is due to open by the last quarter of 2013, in time for the 2014 Winter Olympic Games. Originally from Ireland, Brian started his career in the kitchens of hotels when he was just 14 years old. After discovering the front of house was winning him over, he moved into the Food & Beverage departments of some of Ireland’s best hotels and first joined the Radisson group in 2001 managing the bar operations at the 5 Star Radisson Blu St. Helen’s Hotel in Dublin, winning Irish Hotel Bar of the year in 2002. Brian then decided to travel to Australia to continue his Food & Beverage journey where he stayed for 2 years managing restaurants in Australia. After returning to Ireland in 2005, Brian returned to the Radisson Blu group and continued his career in their Hotels in Limerick, Donegal and Dublin where he joined the Carlson Rezidor Mentor Mentee Program. 6 months later at the age of 28, he was awarded his first General Manager position at the Radisson Blu Letterkenny in Ireland, a hotel that subsequently went on to win AA awards for service and culinary excellence. In 2011, Brian was promoted to General Manager of the Radisson Blu Hotel in Tallinn, Estonia which is his most recent position.